My Surprise Birthday in Kenya

For my 24th birthday Jack surprised me for the best one yet..

girsaffeHotel- The Giraffe Manor, Kenya

asdfghjgiraffekissblogMA0B3214Loungewear by The Wylde

When you travel most of the year and your job involves getting to do some of the most bucket list experiences on the daily, finding something extra special for your birthday can be challenging! Jack had been planning something fun for my birthday, a mystery trip- to Kenya! a place I visited over a year ago but wasn’t able to do the experiences I have longed for- visiting the Giraffe Manor and going on a Safari!

He kept this a surprise up until the day before, even through all my guesses and attempts to spoil the secret! Ive always been bad with surprises!

I truely am the luckiest girl in the world, not only for having the most incredible birthday surprise planned for me, but for getting to spend every day with my soul mate!

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We went to two different safari lodges in Kenya, which were a small plane flight from Nairobi.
The first one we visited was Solio Lodge, which we seen sooo much wildlife, from Giraffes, Rhinos, lions, Cheetahs, Elephants
& lastly the 2nd lodge we stayed at was Sasaab in Samburu which we seen many elephants, Cheetahs & other animals, and had this amazing lodge above the river, the most amazing part was while we were staying we got to experience the first rains of the season & watched the dried up riverbed that we were quad biking the day before fill with a flowing stream of water, and you could see the wildlife’s change in mood & interaction from the rains coming, it was a really special experience!

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Below images are from Samburu Village near Sasaab lodge.
Ive never really shared any of these images, and I think they are so special!MA0B4842MA0B4883MA0B4897MA0B4899MA0B4911MA0B5075MA0B5143MA0B5217MA0B5227MA0B5228MA0B5244MA0B1757MA0B2082
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We book our flights with Qatar Airways
& Hotels with HotelsCombined

All images are edited with our own unique presets, check them out; doyoutravelxgypsealust

Comment below any Questions about my trip!

53 thoughts on “My Surprise Birthday in Kenya

  1. Oh Lauren, I am so so happy to see some more pictures from this trip now on your blog! Those giraffe pictures where my favorites on insta and I love it so much to see some more content from you guys on your blog, even if its from some time ago 🙂
    You are such a huge inspiration for me and I am always super exited when I see a new post frm you 🙂

    Love from Germany
    Xx Paulie <3

    https://mind-wanderer.com/category/adventures/

  2. This looks like an incredible trip Lauren!! Looks like you had an amazing birthday and met some amazing animals and people. I always love following you and Jack’s travels!!

  3. Oh Lauren, what a beautiful birthday surprise! Lucky you. And what should I say more, I love love love all your pics! Especially the super cute giraffe 🙂

  4. Definitely blog more! On IG many influencers may only post 1 or 2 pics from their new traveled destination. It’s nice to see more, since many of us may never see these amazing places. I enjoyed this blog post. How close were you to those lions???

  5. Such beautiful pictures, looks like you had a great trip! Found you on Instagram some weeks ago and found out about your presets packs, bought the mobile presets as a gift for myself;) You are such an inspirational women and I can’t wait to follow your next adventures!<3

  6. I’ve always dreamt to do a trip like this and visit one of these villages!
    How do you organize a visit there ? Is it easy to access alone or you need to have a guide to come with you?
    Thank you ! 🌞
    Xx

  7. Love the blog 🙂 And yes definitely post more on your blog! I’ve recently started blogging too but noticed that it’s a but underappreciated – so many travel bloggers rarely post on the blog but mostly post on their instagram. I personally like to read a bit more about where/what/how etc etc 🙂

  8. Hi Lauren,

    Yes I think you should blog more! It’s nice to hear the story behind the journey and to see more photos (here all the giraffe).
    Also it could be interesting to discuss a bit more your lifestyle: I’m not sure if you are vegetarian (or vegan as your sister) but I’m wondering how you find suitable food and eat balanced while traveling (I’m vegan and it’s not always easy to find restaurants/ingredients to make different meals), also your daily workout (are you going to the hotels’ gym, doing on your own etc. Not always easy to be regular when you travel).
    Just some examples of stuffs that are interesting me!
    Cheers,

    Aurélie
    @aurrou

    1. Hey!
      Thank you for the feedback! I’m going to try more regularly!
      Yes I agree eating a well balanced diet and maintaining fitness is more difficult when travelling, that’s a big part of the reason we spend so much time in Bali, that’s our balance, to have a routine, good food, gym etc. I was mainly vegan for nearly a year, vegetarian for 3 years or more. But just recently I began to eat seafood sometimes, and a little more flexible about non vegan things, like if there’s butter in something etc. I tend to be a little more flexible when travelling, as sometimes there really isn’t many options, and I found myself spending so much time and effort trying to eat vegan, and often the choice was so unnutrional, but I think it comes down to why you are vegan, and for me it was for health, I mean of course the animals too, that’s why I’ll never eat meat, but mainly was health, and if I found myself just eating bread and rice all the time it wasn’t really hitting the mark for why I was eating vegan.. but ellie does a pretty good job of maintaining her lifestyle while travelling !
      And then exercise, I certainly don’t exercise as much as I’d like when travelling but we try to look for hotels with good gyms, which makes it more motivating to do work outs 🙂
      Hope this helps! 🙂 x

  9. So many people that travel to Africa post the classic tourist pictures with small children. I loved loved loved your pictures. They captured the true essence of the native people without making you a center piece of the photo.

    1. Oh thank you for this feedback, that’s so nice to hear, the photos of the locals are some of my favs & I agree it’s much nicer to have portraits of them naturally then being in the photo with them!

  10. Honestly i never visit any blog and this is the first one ! Just swipe up your story and just want know about your stories in kenya .Before im always think that im to lazy to read any words cause its boring .But yours is different! Im so exited then with your next blog . Never regret to following you and Jack post by instagram .
    Sorry for bad english ,im indonesian also stay in Bali . Have a nice day Lauren .

  11. Hey Lauren, always love your and Jack’s pictures. Seeing your blog for the first time and I loved it. This is indeed a dream trip. Following you guys since quiet a long time now and I can see those efforts of taking each shot. Keep travelling and inspiring 🙂 I hardly comment on anything but just couldn’t resist on this one. And yes, please blog more.

  12. Amazing photos!

    Love your blogs and inspiration – eagerly waiting for a blog on your trip to Turkey and Cappadocia!

    Keep up all the amazing work 👌🏽

  13. You are so lucky to visit these marvellous countries. Kenya is so beautiful. The best I prefer are the photos of the giraffes. They are absolutely stunning!

  14. Hi Lauren!
    I’m such a fan of your photography (I have the Greece presets and think they’re just stunning). You’ve really inspired me to consider branching off into Africa on my next big trip as opposed to my usual Asia/Europe – do you have any other African destinations you’d recommend additionally from Kenya?
    Thanks
    Stephanie
    stephanierumore.com

  15. Wow! This looks incredible and these photos are beautiful! It’ll have to go on the bucket list, I think!

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